Euphony
by Finished
Summary: Finally FINISHED! Stewart Otis escapes the prison in Miami and heads to Las Vegas, but he doesn’t know what he has in store for him.
1. Default Chapter

Title: Euphony Disclaimer: I'm borrowing the characters, is that okay with you? Author: Amara Tenoh (TofuDog) Summary: Stewart Otis escapes the prison in Miami and heads to Las Vegas, but he doesn't know what he has in store for him. Note: I love the character Stewart and I just had to write a story about him in Las Vegas. Rating: PG-13 for Pedophiles, mild language, and other things you wouldn't want a small child to read.  
  
Stewart swayed his hand to the soft classical music in his jail cell. He was about to escape. He turned up the music to mask the sounds of his escape. He pulled up the toilet and peeled away the concrete lying around the base of the toilet. He struggled into the pipe. His thin body just fit. He slipped down the pipe and slid to the end of the pipe. He regurgitated when the smell got to him. "Oh, God." He whispered to himself. He wiggled out the end of the pipe. He could hear the music echoing own the pipe. He stood up in the waist high dung at the end of the pipe. He vomited again. He coughed and retched to get the smell out of his lungs. He slopped to the edge of the waste hole. When out of the range of the smell, he retched. He choked.  
  
Finally, he resumed his trip away from the hell house. When on a major highway out of Miami, he stuck out his thumb. He waited for a while and sat down on the curb. A police car drove by and Stewart dove off the side of the road. He rolled down the hillside. When he gained conscience again after hitting his head, he sat up. "Dammit." He said. He slammed his hand on a rock. The rock cut his hand open and he dripped blood. He cursed again. Now, he was leaving a trail. After contemplating what to do, he ripped a shred of cloth off of the stolen clothes and wrapped it around his hand. He tied it snugly and started to trudge back up the hillside. He stuck out his thumb and some teenage girls stopped.  
  
A redhead stuck her head out the window. "Hey, wanna ride? C'mon. Get in the back seat." She pointed to the back seat and tossed her hair.  
  
Her blonde friend driving the car giggled. "Where you heading?" She said as they drove off.  
  
Stewart thought for a second. He tossed cities around in his head. "Las Vegas." He said. He smiled. He knew he could get lost in the crowd of Sin City.  
  
The girls in the front seat giggled. "We can take you as far as Arkansas. K?" The blonde one said.  
  
Stewart thought that that would be great. "Sure." He muttered. "What are your names? How old are you? Tell me." Stewart said. He couldn't get too personal with the girls, but he couldn't let them get suspicious.  
  
"I'm Ash and I'm 16. I just got my license. I'm going to visit my boyfriend." The blonde girl said. "I'm originally from Canada, but it was too cold."  
  
"I'm Soy. That's short for Sonja. I'm 14. What's your name?" The red haired girl said. He flipped her hair. She looked back at the man in the back seat and smiled.  
  
Stewart had to think for a moment. He couldn't tell them his real name. "Ronnie." Stewart lied. He smiled goofily at the girl. The girl gave him a funny look and turned back to the front of the car.  
  
***  
  
The girls stopped at a gas station outside of Little Rock. They filled up with gas. Sonja went to the bathroom. Stewart followed her. He went into the bathroom and looked under the stall.  
  
"Ash, is that you? My stall is out of TP; can you get me some? C'mon." Soy nagged. Stewart went into the other stall and pulled off some toilet paper. He handed it under the stall. "Thanks." The toilet flushed and Soy came out of her stall. "Ronnie? What?" Soy questioned.  
  
Stewart grabbed Soy and put his hand over her mouth. "Hush. Sweetie." He said. He pulled her out of the bathroom and into the woods. He laid her down and wrapped his hand around her throat. Soy gasped for air. She kicked him, so Stewart straddled her. He laid down on her. He felt a snap under him and he cried, "Damn!" He got off of the girl and lifted his hand from her throat. She was dead. He had cracked a rib and it punctured the heart. This was all too familiar. He cussed himself all the way back through the woods to another road. He had messed up. He just couldn't control himself. He cussed again as he stuck his thumb into the air and waggled it. After a while, a car stopped.  
  
A man peeked his head out the window. "Where to? I'll go anywhere you go, dude." He said in a southern accent.  
  
"Vegas." Stewart replied. He smiled his best smile to look friendly, but it came out weird.  
  
The man took another look at him. He hesitated. "Mmm.okay. I'm game. Climb in." They drove off. They had small talk the whole way there. Stewart made up a lie about how he was trying to get to Vegas to get married. The driver soaked in every detail. He later testified to the police that the man was strange and had a thing for kids.  
  
The driver dropped Stewart off at then strip. He waved goodbye to him. Stewart smiled. He was free and away from Horatio. He had not worries about being caught. He was a part of a large city, now. He could resume his life of murder. He strolled down the strip with his pockets in his hand. A man in a hurry with a silver case in his hand, bumped into Stewart. He was practically running down the strip. He stopped and turned around. "Oh, I'm sorry." He said. He tapped Stewart on the shoulder and hurried off. Little did Stewart know, that was Grissom, the supervisor of CSI. Grissom would be the man who would catch Stewart. But, Stewart did not know that. He went on walking, like he had no worries. He whistled as he walked.  
  
To Be Continued. 


	2. Euphony: Part 2

Euphony: Part 2  
  
Grissom bumped into a man while he was on the way to a crime scene. He looks familiar. I've seen him somewhere. He thought. He turned around to get a better look. "Oh, I'm sorry." Grissom said. He tapped the man on the shoulder to try to get a better feel for him. Grissom couldn't linger any longer. It would look suspicious. He hurried on to the crime scene. When he arrived at the site, he set down his case. He pointed to Catherine and motioned for her to come. "Catherine, I just saw a guy. He looks familiar. Go look at him. Follow me." Catherine nodded, and Grissom pointed to Sara. "You are in charge. We'll be back." They hurried up the strip to where the man was walking. Grissom looked around. "He's not here." Grissom threw up his hands.  
  
Catherine didn't know what to say. She just walked back to the crime scene. Grissom stood in the middle of the strip and looked around him. The man was gone. Grissom followed Catherine back. "Dang it. He's gone. I know him from somewhere!" Grissom whispered to Catherine. They worked at the scene and went back to the lab. Grissom dropped some evidence off with Greg and went to the break room. He grabbed a cup of coffee and racked his brain for an answer. He tapped on the table. "Who was he?" He said over and over. He was frustrated. He had seen him somewhere and somewhere in his heart, he knew that man should not have been on the street. He should have been in prison.  
  
Grissom went about his work. Every once in awhile, his mind would float back to that face. While putting a fingerprint into the AFIS database, his mind clicked. He jumped up from his chair. He ran to the computer connected to the national list of wanted criminals. He surfed through the list. Then, he came to a face. He pointed at the computer and walked briskly to get Catherine.  
  
Catherine looked at the computer. She read the name under the picture. "Stewart Otis. Now, who is this guy again?"  
  
Grissom stared at Catherine. "He was the guy I saw on the strip. I was looking through the database this morning. And, when I saw him on the strip, I knew who it was, but I couldn't put my finger on it."  
  
Catherine's face lit up; she had a thought. "You need to call up Horatio and tell him you found his guy in Vegas."  
  
Grissom pointed at Catherine. "Good thinking." He said. He went to his office and searched through his files. He pulled out a sticky note. It had Horatio's cell phone number on it. Grissom dialled the number.  
  
"Horatio?"  
  
"Hello? Who is this?" The man on the other side said cautiously.  
  
"Grissom, from the LVMPD crime lab."  
  
"Hi." Horatio said dully.  
  
"I have some news for you on your escapee." Grissom said confidently.  
  
"You know where Stewart Otis is?" Horatio asked.  
  
"I have a general idea." Grissom said. He scratched his head.  
  
"Where?"  
  
"He is here in Las Vegas. I saw him on the strip on my way to a crime scene."  
  
"Okay." Horatio said in his usual mild tone of voice.  
  
"If I see him again, I'll nab him and send him back to you. I'll put out a BOLO."  
  
"Thanks, Grissom."  
  
"Your welcome, H."  
  
"Bye."  
  
"Bye." Grissom heard a click on the other end of the line, and he hung up his phone. After talking to Horatio, he knew what he had to do. He had to catch that creep before he hurt anybody again. 


	3. Euphony: Part 3

Euphony: Part 3 Stewart Otis hid in the bushes of a day care centre. Little kids were pushing each other out the door. A girl fell to the ground after being pushed and started to whimper. Stewart eyed that girl. He grinned. He just had to wait for the right moment. No problem. He was hunched over in the bushes, thorns and twigs stuck in his back. The little girl wandered over the bush. She was playing jump rope. She sung a little kid's song as she played.  
  
"One, two, three, four, what's ya' momma say when you don't obey? Five..." She continued singing.  
  
Stewart peeked his head out of the bushes. He pulled a piece of candy out of his pocket. "Little girl. Here is a piece of candy. Would you like to have a piece of candy?" He said gently like a father.  
  
The little girl looked at Stewart like he had a malfunction. She stuck out her bottom lip. "No." She adamantly said. She crossed her arms over her chest. Stewart grew angry and reached out to grab the girl. She screamed and the people watching over her ran toward her.  
  
Stewart retreated into the bushes. He cussed at himself silently. He over heard the conversation underway.  
  
"What's wrong? Molly?" The first adult said.  
  
"Candy." Molly, the little girl, stuttered. She pointed to the bushes.  
  
"Yeah, somebody must have dropped some candy in the bushes and Molly got a hold of it. We have to take her inside. She might have been poisoned." The second adult said. He took her by the hand and took her inside.  
  
Stewart cursed at himself. He was tormented inside. His insides were hurting because he needed to fulfil his desires. He had waited a month to partake in this activity and he had failed. Not knowing where to turn, he backed out of the tall bushes and headed down the road. He was angry with himself. He spotted a school where the children where being let out. His heart jumped up into his throat. He went up to the school and stuck his hands into his pocket. He whistled a tune and acted like he was waiting for a child. He hadn't contemplated what to do. It was impromptu and Stewart didn't like that. But, his desires were ravaging. Stewart spotted a small girl struggling down the front steps of the school. Stewart went over to her.  
  
"Do you need help?" He asked. The girl tripped on a shoelace and started to cry. Stewart tied the girl's laces and stood her up. "Are you okay?" He asked gently. He had an idea. "Your mommy asked me to take you home. Come on." He took the girl by the hand. Immediately, he saw the girl's address printed on her backpack, along with her name.  
  
"Where is your car?" The girl questioned.  
  
"You don't live very far from here. I'm walking you home, Susanne." Stewart said. He pulled Susanne off school grounds and hurried with her on the way to her house. Stewart walked her into a small wooded area.  
  
"Where are we going? This isn't the way to my house." Susie said. Her eyes grew wide. "Momma told me about people like you. I wanna go home." Susie cried. She sat down on the ground. Stewart sat down next to her. He offered her a piece of candy. She graciously accepted it and stuck it in her mouth.  
  
"Tell me, Susie. How old are you?" Stewart asked. Susie held up six fingers. "Six is a wonderful age." He nodded his head in agreement with what he had just said. He moved in for the attack. He wrapped his body around Susie and put his hand on her mouth. She squealed. "Hush." Stewart whispered. He began his ritual.  
  
*****  
  
Stewart dug frantically into the soft dirt. He had to dispose of the body. Throwing dirt behind him, the hole grew bigger. Finally, when the hole was big enough to hold a small body, Stewart laid Susie's lifeless body into the hole. He placed the dirt back over the body and lied on the little grave. He took a nap.  
  
When he woke back up, it was dark. Stewart had no place to go. He walked to a convenience store and went into it. He picked up a few necessary items and tucked them into his pockets. He went up front with a bottle of vodka. He paid with the money he had stolen.  
  
"G'day." The clerk said.  
  
"You from Australia? I can tell by your accent." Stewart said.  
  
The clerk nodded his head. "Yes sir. I was born and bred in Sidney. Moved here when I was 27 looking for a better life. And, I found it. I have myself a wife and a baby girl."  
  
When the clerk said baby girl, Stewart's ears perked. The two talked for a while and Stewart told the clerk that he had not home, that he had just come out from New York, and that he needed a place to stay. The clerk invited the Stewart over.  
  
"By the way, my name is Jeff Biggs." Stewart said. He shook hands with the clerk.  
  
"I'm Chase Freely. Ahh...I know. My name is weird, but my parents obviously liked the name." Chase said. "I get off work at ten, so just hang around for a while."  
  
*****  
  
Chase led Stewart to his car and they drove to Chase's house. Chase introduced Stewart to his wife and girl.  
  
"This Nikole, my lovely wife. And, this beautiful two year old is Robin. Nikky, this is Jeff Biggs. I figured we could show a man down on his luck some hospitality." Chase said.  
  
Nikole nodded her head. "It is really late, and Robin is being fussy. I have to put her to bed." She shook hands with Stewart and headed up stairs. Chase put Stewart on the couch and everyone went to their beds.  
  
Stewart woke up in the middle of the night and went upstairs. He peered into the little Robin's crib. His saliva was running and he started to sweat. This was too good to be true. He reached down into the crib. He just about had his hands on the sleeping baby, when he snapped out of his trance. "Don't ruin a good thing." Stewart said to himself. He pattered back downstairs and lied down on the couch. It was a fairly chilly night, so Stewart pulled the blankets up around his neck. He just contemplated what he would do the next day. He was reflecting on his actions just a couple of hours before. In the early days of his killing spree, he was always felt remorseful after he killed a young girl or boy, but now, he had no remorse, no grief; He just wasn't concerned. He was on a high. He didn't need drugs to achieve this high. He just had to rip the life of another human being out of its grasp. He was alive. He felt very alive. 


	4. Euphony: Part 4

Euphony: Part 4  
  
Grissom, with his silver case in hand, stood at the shallow grave. He had a hard task in front of him. Drudgingly, he began his work, brushing away the dirt. He placed the dirt on a plastic sheet to sift through later. When the body was unearthed, Grissom and Catherine stared at it. The mangled body of a six year old was lying in the grave. Grissom sighed an angry sigh and told Catherine to start working with the dirt. Grissom looked at the naked body twisted into the fetal position. Grissom couldn't handle the pain that the girl must have endured. He wiped the dirt from his face and called over the coroner. David inspected the body and pronounced it deceased. Grissom unwrapped the girl's shirt from her neck and bagged it. The girl had one shoe on, and Grissom tenderly removed it. The shoe was pink and had a Barbie doll on it.  
  
"The parents cared about her." Grissom continued to take evidence from the body. "How long has she been dead?" Grissom asked. He looked at David.  
  
David shook his head. "Umm...two weeks as far as I can tell." This was pitiful sight. David, Grissom, and Catherine stood around the girl. Catherine was wringing her hands on the edge of her shirt. Grissom was wiping his face. David pulled out an old body bag.  
  
Grissom stopped him. "No, I want a new one. This case is top priority. Don't wash her when you get back to the lab. I want to see her first."  
  
***  
  
Grissom picked over the little body. He pulled a fibre off of her. The fibre was yellow and kind of plasticy. Grissom sent it to the lab via Catherine. He washed the body gently. As he sprayed her with warm water, he felt a connection to the little girl, because he knew who did this horrible thing to her. This man had to be stopped. Who knew how many other children he had killed?  
  
Catherine walked into the lab. Greg was dancing to his music. He had his arms up in the air, swaying to the heavy metal. Catherine went over to the boom box and hit the power button. Greg turned around. "What was that for?" He asked.  
  
"Top priority, now!" Catherine said. She slammed down a bag of evidence.  
  
Greg looked at the bag. "Okay. Is that Grissom's orders or yours?"  
  
"Does it matter? Just do it." Catherine said. She walked out of the lab and back to Grissom.  
  
Grissom was sitting in a chair, talking to the little girl. "What is your name? I know your mother is looking for you." He said. He brushed a piece of hair out of the girl's eyes. He looked like he was expecting a reply. He was sitting on the edge of his seat. The girl's blue eyes stared into oblivion.  
  
Catherine spoke up. "Grissom." Grissom jumped out of his chair. He inhaled sharply. "Grissom, what do you want me to do?" She said. She put her hand on Grissom's back and patted it.  
  
"Go through the missing people list. Look for a girl like her." Grissom said. Catherine knew that it would be wrong to do that. She would never find the little girl in the computer. Faithfully, she obeyed Grissom's orders.  
  
*****  
  
Catherine sat looking at the computer screen. Five empty cups of coffee sat by the computer. She had been scrolling for days. Just sitting at the computer, eyes plastered on the screen, scrolling through the missing persons reports. A certain report with a picture of a cheery eyed girl caught Catherine's eye.  
  
__________  
  
Name: Susanne Dutchie  
  
DOB: 12-24-98  
  
Last Seen: 1-25-04  
  
Description: Blonde girl. Blue eyes. About 3'1". Wearing pink dress when disappeared. Last seen with man walking her in the direction of her house. Goes by name Susie.  
  
Any Information on this girl please contact 555-8483. Reward is offered.  
  
____________  
  
Catherine printed out the page and went to see Grissom in his office. She humbly handed the paper to him. He put on his glasses and read the paper.  
  
"That's her." He exclaimed. He hit the paper with the back of his left hand and went to the coroner's office. He pulled out the drawer that Susie was in and spoke quietly to her. "We know who you are, Susie." He said. He pushed her back into the cabinet and removed the Jane Doe label. He made a label reading 'Susanne Dutchie' and stuck it onto the drawer. Now, he had to make the phone call to the parents. That was the hardest part of his job.  
  
"Hello?" A woman said on the other side of the phone. Grissom could tell that she had been crying.  
  
"Ms. Dutchie?" Grissom asked.  
  
"Yes? How do you know my name?" Ms. Dutchie asked. She was confused.  
  
"I'm Gil Grissom with the Las Vegas Criminalistics Department."  
  
"Did you find Susie?" She asked. Joy leapt into her voice.  
  
"Maybe. I think you had better come in." Grissom said.  
  
"Okay, I'll be right in." Ms. Dutchie said. She hung up the phone.  
  
Grissom waited at the front desk for Ms. Dutchie. She showed up and came up to Grissom. "Are you the one who called me?" She asked. Hurt was showing in her face. Her blonde hair was the same colour as her daughter's and she had the same sparkling blue eyes.  
  
"Yes." Grissom said. "Follow me. You need to come ID the body." He led her to the coroner's area. He pulled out a drawer. The body had a sheet over it. "Are you prepared for this?" The hurt woman nodded her head. Grissom lifted the sheet. The woman was in agony. She whimpered. Grissom covered the body back up. "Is that your daughter?" He said as he pushed the drawer back in.  
  
"Yes." She said softly.  
  
*****  
  
Grissom called up Horatio to tell him about the body they found. "Horatio?" Grissom said solemnly.  
  
Horatio sighed. "Let me guess, you found a body."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"We found a body matching the MO of Stewart Otis. A body was found just outside Little Rock, Arkansas. It was a 14-year-old girl. How old was your DB?"  
  
"She was just six years old. Her mother ID'd the body today."  
  
"Do I have to send out a specialist on Otis?" Horatio asked.  
  
"I'll call you if we reach a dead end."  
  
"Well, Grissom. It seems like you have already hit one."  
  
"We are working on it, H. It has been moved to top priority."  
  
"Okay, but if you don't catch him within a month or another dead body turns up, call me."  
  
"Sure, Horatio." Grissom said.  
  
"Okay. Bye." Horatio hung up the phone. Grissom hung up slowly, reflecting on what had happened since he had seen Stewart. He had to catch that man, but he did not know how to. It hurt Grissom to think about the little girl, who had life in front of her, was now dead. She could have no children, no husband, and no joy of getting to drive for the first time. Grissom slammed his hand on the table. 


	5. Euphony: Part 5

Euphony: Part 5  
  
Stewart Otis reached over the sleeping toddler. He grabbed her up into his arms. He hugged her tight to him as he left the house stealthily. She woke up and stared to cry. Otis's anger flared. He shook the baby hard. Robin cried as she was shaken violently. Otis slammed Robin on the ground. Robin died from the trauma that was inflicted on her from Otis. He, in a fervent passion, had killed the object of his desire. Trying to escape detection or the sight of nosy neighbours, Otis had to hide the body. He was confused. So, he hastily threw Robin into the parent's dumpster and fled. Scared to be caught, Otis left the neighbourhood. In a frenzy, he left all his belongings at the house where he was staying.  
  
*****  
  
Grissom peeked into the dumpster and winced. This was the second child death in this neighbourhood, which just happened to be near where Catherine lived. Catherine was scared for her child and had to leave the scene to go home and check on Lindsey. Grissom had David pronounce and he went to work collecting evidence off the baby. Nick, who had just recently joined the case, went up to the front door. He opened it to talk to the parents.  
  
"Hi, I'm Nick Stokes. I'll be working the case with Mr. Grissom on finding out who did this to your lovely daughter." Nick said. He shook hands with both parents. Nikky had snot on her hand, so Nick had to pull a Kleenex out of his case to wipe his hand. He tried to show no disgust.  
  
"We know who did it. He had stayed with us for the past month." Chase said. He held his wife's hand to comfort her, but Nick knew from experience that nothing would comfort a grieving mother.  
  
"We thought he was harmless. He was friendly and loved our baby." Nikky said.  
  
"Jeff was a nice man." Chase added.  
  
"Wait a minute; his name is Jeff?" Nick said.  
  
"Jeff Biggs. I met him working at my convenience store."  
  
"Are you sure is name was Jeff? Did you see a drivers license or anything with his name on it?" Nick questioned. Did they have the wrong man?  
  
"No, we're not sure. In fact, I can't ever recall seeing anything with his name on it. I don't even know how to spell his last name."  
  
Nick pulled out a picture of Stewart Otis. He showed it to the family. They told Nick that that was the man they had opened their house to. "This man is a convicted Pedophile named Stewart Otis. He escaped from his prison in Florida and came here."  
  
"Gosh...I thought...I didn't know...He seemed decent enough. A little dirty, but nice."  
  
Nick went back out to Grissom and they processed the scene together. Grissom tenderly set the baby into the clean body bag and it was transported back to the lab.  
  
*****  
  
Grissom went through the same meticulous sweep of the baby's body as he did with Susie. He washed it gently with mildly warm water instead of the usually frigid water that was used. He photographed the body carefully. Two pictures on each shot. Grissom always got exceedingly angry when there was crime that involved children. He got too involved and he knew it. It was a weakness of his that he hid from the rest of the CSIs. He talked to the toddler. "We are closer than we were before. We will find out who did this too you." Catherine watched Grissom through the window as the prepared the baby for autopsy.  
  
*****  
  
Grissom had to make the phone call that he didn't want to make. He grudgingly picked up the phone and dialled Horatio's phone number.  
  
"Horatio." Grissom said in a depressed manner.  
  
"Grissom." Horatio retorted.  
  
"We found another body that we attribute to Otis."  
  
"How old?"  
  
"She was only two years old."  
  
"He's tricky, but he is able to be caught. I remember that we had him right in the palm of our hand and he escaped, again. He went to a place with a lot of children. His favourite dream, but our worst nightmare." Horatio reminisced. "He is elusive."  
  
"Yeah, you got that right."  
  
"Good luck." Horatio said.  
  
"Hey, we don't need luck; we need people and money. The things we don't have. You know, I can't put up a notice to public; Otis will just skip town. We can't have that. Can we?"  
  
"No. Just keep your eyes peeled. That is about all you can do." Horatio said. "Well, you had better get going to keep up with that elusive beast."  
  
"Yeah, well, okay. Bye."  
  
"Bye."  
  
Grissom hung up the phone and wondered how and when he would catch that monster. 'By Divine Intervention' was all that Grissom could come up with. He was out of ideas. He had a lack of evidence, and he was dealing with a transient who could skip town and go to Mexico. Or to Canada where there is no death penalty and they won't extradite him if the Americans are going to put him to death, which is what he deserves.  
Grissom thought of all the times when he had hit a brick wall; he told his people to go back over the evidence. Well, the evidence wasn't leading him to Otis. It wasn't leading him anywhere. They knew whom it was, just not where he was. They didn't need to know who had committed the crimes. Oh, they knew that all right. It's just, where is that man? Grissom cursed at himself for letting Otis go in the first place. He should have known who it was. He had just gone through the escaped prisoners list that morning. 


	6. Euphony: Part 6

Euphony: Part 6  
  
Grissom tapped his fingers on his desk. He was waiting for an idea to come to him. How would he catch this monster? He pain and angst for the little children who had died under the hands of Stewart Otis had gripped him so tight around the neck and was strangling him.  
  
He laid his head on his desk and closed his eyes. He fell into a deep sleep. Not wanting to wake up after a refreshing nap, he lifted his head. His eyes half slit in sleepiness, the much-wanted idea had come to him. He turned on his computer and started typing wildly. He looked over the finished product on his screen and printed the page out when he was satisfied with it. He held the page up and looked at it. He printed out many copies of it and went through the lab, corralling his CSIs into the Break Room.  
  
The CSIs sat around the break table, grumbling, about Grissom's interrupting their work. Sara talked to Catherine about the latest case while Nick Brewed some of Greg's expensive coffee. Nick glanced over his shoulder every once in a while, checking to make sure Greg was not coming. Nick poured the coffee for every one in the break room. Grissom walked in with a handful of papers in his arms. He took the cup out of Nick's hand. "Thank you." He said and sipped on the coffee. Nick poured himself another cup.  
  
"Everyone, Stewart Otis is ravaging our town. His rage is not letting up. It is our responsibility to catch this monster before he strikes again." Grissom said. He took a sip on the coffee and looked back at Nick. "This is not our coffee." He whispered to Nick. Nick smirked. Grissom nodded his head in understanding. The coffee was delicious and Grissom was not going to dispute what Nick had done. Warrick sipped contently on the coffee as his boss talked to them about their responsibilities. He had heard this before.  
  
Grissom handed out the sheets of paper. The team looked over their own respective stacks as Grissom watched their reactions. "Do you really think that this is going to work?" Catherine questioned. Her out-spoken self had struck again. She lifted the paper and waved it.  
  
Grissom ignored the question and continued to talk. "Please, hand these flyers out, alerting about the pedophile on the loose, to every day care centre, nursery, park, school, etc. I want these to reach the hands of every place with children, not Stewart Otis. Break up as you wish, I don't care how. Just do what I say as you want to. Pronto. Go on everyone." The team stood up complaining. They tossed their coffee cups and left the break room with the stack of papers in their arms.  
  
Sara stayed behind. She confronted Grissom. "You once told me never to get too involved with the victims. I've stayed true to that, but can you?" Sara challenged. She walked out of the break room, following her co-workers. Grissom stood in the break room, pondering what Sara had said to him.  
  
Greg walked into the room with Grissom. He smelled of the air. He opened his mouth to speak, "That's not my coffee, is it?" He asked Grissom. Grissom stared past Greg, still thinking. He, finally, walked out of the break room, leaving Greg to the empty coffee pot.  
  


* * *

  
Grissom sat at his desk, listening to the classical music that soothed him. He yawned. He had been at work for two days, non-stop, waiting for the phone call that he was expecting. Grissom knew that Stewart Otis was attracted like a magnet to all places with children. It was undeniable about Otis's nature. The phone rang and Grissom pounced like a cat spotting its prey on the telephone.  
  
"Hello?" Grissom said. His heart was beating rapidly. Thum-bum...thum-bum.  
  
"Hello? Is this Gil Grissom?" A terrified woman asked on the other end of the telephone line. She was panicking.  
  
"Yes, this is he." Grissom said. He clutched the telephone tighter.  
  
"I have a poster of a man. This man is outside my day care centre. He is pacing outside. I thought he was just a parent waiting until I found this poster. It looks just like him." The woman said.  
  
"Okay, where is your day care centre?"  
  
"Umm...I'm at 295 Flamingo Road. This is the Sunny Child Day Care Centre." The woman said. Grissom assured her that they would be there soon and hung up the phone. He walked briskly to the lab and pointed at Nick and Catherine. "Come with me." He instructed. Grissom stopped by Brass's office and told him to follow. Brass old him that he would be there in a minute. As they walked out to the Tahoe, with silver cases in hand, Grissom filled them in on the new information.  
  
Totally un-Grissom-like, Grissom climbed into the driver's seat. He pushed the key into the ignition and flipped on the police lights. They drove to the centre. As they pulled up to the curb, they looked at the front of the centre. Stewart was not there. Grissom, in a hurry, jumped out of the car, with the key still in it. He went inside with Nick and Catherine hot on his trail.  
  
He saw a group of toddlers huddled around a woman lying on the floor. Grissom knelt down next to the woman and asked her, "Are you okay?" The woman nodded. Grissom continue to talk. "What happened?" Grissom asked.  
  
"The man out front...he came inside and took Bethany." Grissom ordered for Nick to go back out to the car and call the police with Grissom's cell phone. Nick saw Otis buckling a child into the Tahoe. Nick ran up to the car and pulled on the car door. It was locked. As Stewart stepped on the gas pedal, the car door broke off in Nick's hand. He dropped in on the concrete to preserve it as evidence and ran inside to use the phone. He instructed for ambulance and scent dogs to follow the car. Catherine propped the woman up on the wall, as they waited for the ambulance. Grissom waited out front. The bloodhounds arrived and Grissom gave them the door handle to smell. They howled and ran off toward the West. Grissom ran with them. They went for a couple miles and Grissom was exhausted. He climbed into the police car that was following the dogs. They were just starting to leave Las Vegas. Grissom put his hand up to his head as the sun shined in his face. The sun was beginning to set. The cold began to wrap around Vegas.  
  
The dogs ran off on to a dirt road. The police car could not longer follow, so Grissom got out of it and followed the dogs. As the police dogs went over the top of a hill, Grissom saw his car at the bottom in a dirt pit. Grissom ran down the hill, hoping that Stewart Otis was in the car. Grissom wanted to catch him in the act. He went up to the driver's side and flung the door open. A little girl lay dead on the driver's seat. Grissom's anger grew and he covered the exposed girl up with his jacket. He knew who had done this act; the scene was almost worthless to him. Grissom called the police officers over. They started to tape off the scene. 


	7. Euphony: Part 7

Euphony: Part 7  
  
The Officer's taped the scene off in a smooth motion, working as one. Just how Grissom like it. The dogs were sniffing around the scene for a while until they picked up another scent. One of the dogs bawled loudly and took off to the West. Grissom ran with the dogs. He knew that Stewart Otis couldn't have gotten too far.  
  
Finally, the dogs let out many long barks. They bawled as loud as they could. There was a cave in front of the uniformed personnel. Grissom, unhesitatingly, pulled out his flashlight and went into the cave. He went back far enough that he had to crawl. He stopped, thing maybe that the dogs were confused. He swept his flashlight across the back of the cave. He saw eyes shining in the light. Grissom called out, "Stewart. I know you are back there. I can see you."  
  
"The only way I'm coming out is dead." Stewart yelled back at Grissom.  
  
"No, we can get you help." Grissom said. He pointed his flashlight at Stewart and crawled close. His gun got snagged on a rock and fell out of this holster. Grissom didn't know and continue to crawl toward Stewart. He held out his hand. Stewart pulled out a razor blade. As Grissom fixed his flashlight on Stewart and got his first good look at the man, he saw the twisted grin on his face. Grissom's anger flared. He saw the knife glinting in the light and, as quick as he could, he reached out and smacked the knife out of Stewart's hand. It landed on the ground and both Grissom and Stewart crawled as fast as they could toward the knife. Grissom dove toward Stewart, and they grappled in the cave. Grissom pinned him to the side of the cave.  
  
Grissom had to contemplate what to do. He could rid the world of this man and nobody would know what had gone down in this dark cave. Grissom held Stewart Otis down with his elbow and reached for the knife.  
  
He pocketed the knife and started to pull Otis out of the cave. Otis spotted the gun that had dropped out of Grissom's holster and reached for it. Grissom grabbed Otis's hand. "Nuh-huh." He said and squeezed the hand. He reholstered the gun and continued on his way out. Grissom walked out of the cave with Stewart Otis by his side. They stood in the mouth of the cave. They police officers ran up to Stewart Otis and handcuffed him. He started to put him in the back of the police car when he said, "Horatio should have let me die."  
  
Grissom looked Stewart in the eyes and turned his back. He had to go process the scene. He sighed as he looked at the body and pulled out his silver case. It was just another scene to process. He told himself. But, he knew better than that. 


End file.
